ANTH 1006 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Endocannibalism, Cultural Relativism, Incest
Document Summary
Anthropology: answering questions about the human species. Seeks to produce generalizations about people and their behavior. Seeks to arrive at an unbiased understanding of diversity. Myths and folklore are meant to answer questions about human species. Holism: to view things in the broadest possible context. To cover the whole scope of humanity. Kuru: neuro disease that has affected highland new guinea tribal members. Tribe members ate the brains of their dead relatives. Cultural relativism: to view the beliefs and customs of other peoples within the context of their culture, not one"s own. Ethnocentrism: tendency to view one"s own culture as the center of everything and superior to all other cultures. Acknowledges that cultures are different but not ranked. Look at things not as moral issues but as answers to problems people face. How do you feed a whole group during an economical struggle. Anthropologists inject themselves into the cultures they study. Recognizes plural interest groups within a society.
